About 42.9 lakh take dip in Ganga, Sangam on Basant Panchami

Prayagraj (UP): Around 42.9 lakh people took a dip in a dozen ghats in the Ganga and at the holy Sangam on Wednesday on the occasion of Basant Panchami, officials said on Wednesday.

Devotees including women, children and the elderly have been coming to the Magh Mela area from early morning, they said.

A Magh Mela administration official said that despite Tuesday's rain and a cloudy sky and cold weather this morning, about 42.9 lakh people took the holy dip in the 12 ghats to mark Basant Panchami, the fourth bathing festival of Magh Mela in the Sangam city till 6 pm.

Devotees from different parts of Uttar Pradesh and also those from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Bihar among others took the holy bath on the occasion, the Mela official said, He said that 12 ghats were readied for the occasion and the length of the ghats has been increased from 6,800 feet to 8,000 feet this time for the convenience of people, and a total of 12 ghats have been built with adequate change facilities.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Magh Mela) Rajiv Narayan Mishra said that elaborate security arrangements have been made in the mela area with 300 CCTV cameras and many AI-based cameras being operational and their feed being sent to the Integrated Command Control Centre.

If any suspicious object or person is seen, immediate action is taken, he said.

'Bhandaras' were organised on a large scale in the camps of saints and sages in the Magh Mela area.